Mark skimmed over the posts and took began summarizing for The Vessel.

"Well... Judging by what's going on, not a whole lot. There's lots of theorizing about the time stream and the origins of the intelligent Deathclaws. In truth I had hoped that the Deathclaw origin would have been Jack, however Natsuki's maker appears to be shying away from that option. Also, I've moved a few people into stasis until their erm... Makers come back. Also we've had a few additional people come in while you were gone." Mark said a tad disappointed that The Vessel was leaving. As strange as it was, it was nice having an intelligent conversation with a "fictional" character.

"Nothing much more is going on except the organizational stuff and rebuilding the Pub." He concluded.

Mark took a moment to think as he pointed to the various musical instruments and art implements that were stored across his bed room as well as the shelf of sheet music that sat next to his bed.

"Well music for one. I play violin, piano, which is down stairs due to obvious logistical reasons, trumpet and guitar. If it's not that then it's art, drawing mostly. And if it's not that, during the winters, I go to the mountains to go snowboarding, that's like sledding except you stand up with the sled strapped to your feet. On occation I will go out on a date or hang out with friends." He said dreaming of the next winter and hoping that the coloquialisms weren't going over her head.

"And if it's not any of those it's reading and finally film or video games if none of those fit my mood at the time." Mark stated as he pointed at the TV that was mounted to a wall opposite the bed.

"It strikes me as odd that you came through because you char... I mean avatars are always so busy saving the world or fighting the next calamity that exploring theological or divine topics seems like one of the last things that you do. Also you're the first person througb the door since I created it mere seconds before you passed through its threshold. The only avatars that have been in my dimension are my avatars, Puce and Kurumu." He explained as he got ready for bed.

Mark would hear the sounds of a pencil writing. It seemed to come from everywhere. And it was at that point that small section of the wall behind him opened up like a peeking slot, revealing darkness...and a pair of red eyes.

"Well, of COURSE it was Jack, but the reactions I portray are MY business... Natsuki was uncertain for very obvious reasons. The picture was indistinct, the security system is wonky, and she doesn't know why her father would not simply eliminate the Deathclaws instead of altering them. Knowing how your character thinks puts their voice in your mind, and THAT is the essence of good writing..."

The piece of wall shut once more, seamless and unbroken. That...was the creator of Natsuki and Jack?

Meanwhile, there was a strange puzzle box sitting on the bar. It had...much temptation ground into its parts, a grand desire to solve...the box, to pick it up and fiddle with it until done. It wanted to be opened...

Anthony looked around the bar noticing that time had passed around him, the bottle that had been placed infront of him was drained and the lho tubes had been smoked.

"I suppose I must of lagged there, interesting" his eyes began to flicker on and off as he rose up. He placed a small adamantium coin on the counter, turned to the closest bartender made an aquila with his hands, and walked out of the pub with a worried expression on his face.

Mark, once again at work, read Avouleance2nd post and found The Vessel seated nearby in an office chair, leaned back as she talked.

"Maybe some day when I'm a bit more comfortable with your following me around every time I read a post, I'll show you. Shouldn't be too long though... this is kinda cool actually." He stated as he continued to read and made a mental note to look up The Vessel's description in her character sheet.

"You know... the why's of it will differ from writer/creator/maker to writer/creator/maker. As for me, the reason why I created Puce and adapted Kurumu is because it gives me yet another creative outlet. It gives me the ability to create a vast world without the constrains of physics and limits. Out here, I'm Mark, a simple and ordinary Information Technologies administrator while in there..." He pointed at the laptop computer," I'm Puce, Kurumu and Fenris... as well as a slew of other characters that my mind has given a voice to." He stated, hoping that he didn't come off sounding like some sort of nut bag.

Mark felt a shudder run a marathon up his back as Jack and Natsuki's creator disappeared back into the hole in the wall.

"And there are those of us who are play their cards close to their chest." Mark muttered towards no one in particular before turning back to The Vessel.

"Surely you're aware of the need to be creative? Your creator did make you a musician correct?"

Puce's eyes returned into focus as he realized that he'd been standing motionless for quite some time. Watching Anthony leave, and the admantium coin that spun on the counter before coming to rest, he wondered if he would see the man again and that's when Natsuki started laughing.

"It's about damn time for what?" Puce asked the Diclonius girl as he looked over at her. He did notice the puzzle box that was sitting on the bar and made a move to reach for it, if it wasn't for Fenris already being there and grabbing the box from the counter top.

"A puzzle box... how interesting." The Deathclaw stated as he began to fiddle with the thing.

"Are you sure you can figure it out without breaking it?" Kurumu asked as she hid a hammer behind her back.

"I am not sure if I can solve this puzzle, however I will try." He stated as he started deftly manipulating the box with the tips of his claws, not an easy feat mind you.

"My powersuit is in working order again. Remember that I broke it, coming in?"

Oh yeah... Something about mini-nukes hurled by Super Mutant Behemoths. Anyway, Fenris was messing with that box. It was difficult for him to manipulate, what with his claws and all. However, the thing appeared to resist being scratched by him, and instead made an internal CLICK as one fourth of it separated from the rest, rose up, went down, and went back into position again. Curious... Where were the seams on this thing? One trick of the thing was done. Another remained, and Puce asked Natsuki about the box.

"Huh... That's a funny little toy. Not mine, though. Must be someone else's."

The door opened and Yoruichi yawned, she was in her French Maid outfit, but it seemed to of been cleaned or least fancied up looking freshly new. Fixing her hair to look as neat as possible, she came to where Puce, Kurumu, Fenris, and Natsuki where.

"Hope I didn't take to long of a break- hmm? .. What's that? A box of some sort?"

"Well that's one thing out of the way then." Puce muttered as he remembered the odd image from the security cameras showing Natsuki wearing her power armor. Next would be to figure out what else needed to happen in order for that Matriarch to show up.

As Puce looked down at the still shot of the Matriarch entering the Pub, he noticed that the time stamp which had been furiously shifting at random had seemed to slow down a bit. With that, Puce turned his attention back to Natsuki.

"Neither Kurumu nor I brought it in." Puce said as he looked at Fenris continuing to mess with the damnable thing.

"Any luck Fenny?" Kurumu asked curiously as Fenris continued to try to open the thing.

"I'm afraid not, Miss Kurumu." The Deathclaw stated as he continued his experimentation with the Puzzle Box.

"The room's great. With my speed, I got everything settled and rearranged."

She noticed that the Pub wasn't quite lively as it was before, and she began rubbing the back of her neck with a bored expression on her face. She wasn't one to also solve puzzles since she held no interest in the box Fenris was observing with Natsuki.

"Puce, anything you need me to do? Want some glasses or wine to drink?"

Puce shook his head and picked up the bottle "La Mort D'amour" that was his favored drink since... always. As Yuroichi looked at the label, she noted the pink head that was cracked open like an egg with winged skulls flying out of it.

"You wanna try some?" Puce asked the Cat/Woman as Kurumu chimed in.

"Don't do it! It'll make you feel weird." Kurumu said as she ran her fingers up the keys to see if the Piano was in tune. Satisfied, she began playing a few chords as warm up.

Yoruichi studied it closely, but lost the will to investigate any further. "Sure, I won't mind taking a swig."

She grasped the narrow part of the bottle with her entire hand and looks straight up taking a full drink of the stuff before looking back at Puce sighing in relief. "That's stuff pretty strong... oh .. hmm." She began to blush and her breathing somewhat heavy.

The box let out several wild clicks and began to unfold in his hands, origami-style

Was somebody writing really loud just then? The box defied normal physics and took the shape of a crane, a pteradactyl, a banana, and then finally resolved into a big and shiny candy-like red button labeled "Press for service".

Puce watched as the chemicals that were in Kurumu's special blend took hold of Yuroichi's brain. The first thing that happened was a huge amount of adrenaline was released into her system, giving her the impression that something was off, like she was about to go into the fight of her life. She felt more energetic, more focus, even time seemed to feel like it was passing more slowly as things slowed down to a crawl. In the back of her mind, however, a voice screamed for her to runaway and crawl under a table and it kept getting louder and louder and louder.

That's where the second chemical kicked in, flooding her systems with Dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin making her feel ... like she was looking at someone that was really really attractive. She could get her mind out of the gutter as the feeling of physical attraction without a specific target made her feel great and chased the panic out of her brain.

And finally there was the alcohol. At 138 proof, it wasn't the hardest alcohol out there but it did the trick.

The end result, Yuroichi felt like she was about to explode out of her pants while doing the dishes at an even faster pace than she was normally capable of.

Kurumu would have been satisfied with a Pterodactyl or a Banana but a shiny red button always meant trouble no matter what. Kurumu and Puce would have said so if not for Fenris, being that he was never around that sort of symbology, he promptly pressed the Red Button.

Yoruichi flinched from the response as she was nearly getting half the kitchen cleaned up to the point Superman would of been proud of seeing. She was already fast, but the stuff made her keep going at speeds that Kurumu or Puce would have a hard time catching sight of her unless they really focused.

Suddenly she heard both of them yell 'No' and made her stop for a second to look. "Did- he PUSH the button?!"

Cue the slow-motion "NOOOOOO!!" as Fenris pushed the button. At first, there was just a 'Squeaky!' sound, but then the button vanished in a puff of smoke Then, a section of the ceiling opened up to allow...a large-and-loud black machine to descend, hanging from wires, which finally led to...a single spotlight turning on in the middle of it, shining on the door.

"Umm...what?"

That was it?! That's crazy! That's ludocrous! That's...the sound of the door opening just then. A figure stood there, appearing human. He was average height, average build, and in gray-and-red armor that was probably demonic on origin. The actual face of the person was that of a Caucasian male with brown hair and glasses. The glasses were tinted red.

"Hellooo, meta-bar!"

If Guardian Bob were here, he'd be saying that this was bad, really bad.

Yoruichi, having the drink slowly wear off of her or least her will overcoming the effects now- stared at this newcomer. She didn't feel right, like, he was trouble and nothing but trouble to begin with. Slowly, she walked to the others with her eyes not leaving him.

At first the French Maid Yoruichi hesitated, stunned by his skills in doing something so off that it even surprised her- but after absorbing this sight she immediately got to getting his request under three seconds using Shunpo. She was able to get what he wanted, and handed it to his upper half in person. In the other arm was the Surge.

Puce looked at the 'man' in an odd sort of way that appeared to say 'I'm getting too old for this shit.' Hearing the order, he took a look at Fenris who obligingly went through the trap door to go grab a keg of Space Mead. In the mean time, Puce looked inside the refrigerator and grabbed a can of Surge.

That was until Yuroichi grabbed the order lickity split.

"Here you go... Jake you said?" Puce asked as he passed the Writer the can but not before slipping a napkin underneath it.

"That's certainly a strange name." Kurumu remarked having not yet met any Jakes in her lifetime.

"What do you mean by Writer?" Puce asked taking the hint that he meant something other than one who writes novels or news.

Yoruichi's eye twitched a bit and she kindly but angrily got on Puce saying, ".. Hey, hey... who'd you hire to be Server again?" she asked, with both things in her possession already. It irked her that Puce would get the stuff himself when she was able to do it in mere seconds.

He leapt off the bed with a grunt, doing a couple of stretches to soothe his tense muscles. Wiping his eyes, he left the room while wearing a blissful smile on his face.

"Heeey, Puce? Don't suppose you could grab me a coffee or something, eh?" He slurred drowsily. His hair and clothes were all mussed up, and his eyes were glued shut. He sniffed he air, and turned his head to the newcomer.

"Oh. W-welcome to the Pub!" Hadrian greeted the guest in a weakly enthusiastic tone, before coughing into his hand. "Hope you enjoy your stay... and stuff."

"When I was 2nd Division Captain of the fastest unit alive in Soul Society, yeah... they tend they be so fast that the assassinations and tasks given were down almost without effort given or time wasted. I myself was their leader, I over topped everyone in the ranks of speed. .. but sure Puce, I can take it easy if you want me to."

Puce went over to the espresso machine to brew up a few shots of double strong espresso for Hadrian as he looked over at Yuroichi.

"It's not always about speed you know. You can't make a meal cook faster, can you?" Puce asked while imagining charred steaks with raw meat on the inside.

"That doesn't look like you're taking a break there, Jake." Kurumu commented as she started playing on the piano.

"I am back with the Space Mead." Fenris stated as he climbed up the ladder that lead to the underground and then he noticed the glasses of space mead already on the Writer's table.

"Ms. Ichi. If you could tell me that you're going to be fetching the supplies, then I would not have to see my mother." He said, positively happy that he would not have to see the nagging mother he had.

Puce informing Yoruichi about not rushing things (and it is true you can't rush cooking), she simply bowed and answered, "Yes, I won't rush things then from here on out. I'll take my time carefully preparing whatever the guests require of me to fetch, cook, or serve."

"To the untrained eye, it DOES look that way, doesn't it? But I'm passionate about writing. It is my fun, or part of it. What I meant was that I wanted to get in the thick of it, a change of atmosphere. In this case, I've rendered it all meta-fiction."

Puce frowned at the woman as she bowed, not due to anything more than not being used to being in a leadership position.

"You don't have to bow to me either Yuroichi. I'm not really your boss since I'm not paying you or anything. It's not like I can fire you either." He said as he remembered that he had hired her on as a bouncer.